Furrow marker



March 27, 1956 s c, MORTON 2,739,563

FURROW MARKER Filed May 21, 1954 IN VEN TOR.

FOW MARKER Samuel C. Morton, Fort Madison, lewa Application May 21, 1954, Serial No. 431,458 Claims. (will. 116-414) This invention relates to furrow markers.

An object of the invention is to provide a marker attachable to a fence and adapted to mark, from plowing season to plowing season, the exact location of the ends of the furrows of the last plowing and also of the turnedup soil between the adjacent furrows, in order that the locations of furrows and turned-up soil portions may be reversed at the next plowing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a weather resistant marker for marking the ends of the furrows of aplowed field and also of the turned-up soil between adjacent furrows, which marker is attachable to a fence at a selected point therealong and has alternative setting positions useful in distinguishing the position of the ends of the furrows from that of the turned-up soil portions.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description considered in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view or" a marker of the present invention mounted upon a wire fence, with the indicating point of the marker directed upwardly.

Figure 2 is a view taken along the line 22 of Figure l, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the marker of the present invention with the attaching means in the disconnected position and the indicating point directed downwardly.

Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the upper portion of the marker of the present invention with the attaching means in the connecting position.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the illustrated device comprises, an upstanding hanger plate having means on its upper end for attachment to a fence. The plate 18 is substantially T-shaped and the head portion 11 of the T-shaped member 10 constitutes the means by which the plate 11) is attached to a fence. The head portions 11 is bent downwardly into face-to-face relation with the adjoining standard portion of the plate 10 to embrace a wire 12, to support the plate 10 upon the wire 12, as shown in Figure 1. A portion or" the plate 10, adjacent the head portion 11, is cut away, as shown at 1 to facilitate the bending of the plate 1t) about the wire 12. A fastening strip 155 is positioned longitudinally along the upper edge the head portion 11 and is connected thereto with its end portion severed from the head portion 11. When the crossed portion 11 is bent into faceto-face relation with the standard portion of the plate 10, the severed end portlons o-r the fastening strip 15 are bent about the adjacent edge portions of the standard portion or" the plate 10, as shown in Figure 4, to fasten the head portion 11 in face-to-face relation position with respect to the adjacent standard portion of the plate 10.

A retainer strip 16 is arranged in face-to-face spaced relation with respect to the hanger plate 10, intermediate the ends of the hanger plate It} and is connected thereto by a pair of horizontally disposed fixed pins or rivets 17 nite rates Patent ot' a wire fence, in the bent portion A which are arranged in vertical spaced relation with respect to each other.

A pointer 18, having an indicating point 19 on one end, is interposed between the plate 10 and the strip 16 and is connected to the pins 17 for movement from a position in which the indicating point 19 is directed upwardly, as shown in Figure l, to a position in which the indicating point is directed downwardly, as shown in Figure 3. The pointer 18 consists of a plate of substantially triangular shape formed with a point 19 at one of its corners. The pointer 18 is provided with a vertical slot 20, extending intermediate the corner of the pointer 18 upon which the indicating point 19 is located and the opposite side of the pointer 18, and a short slot 21, extending at right angles and to one side of the leg 20 intermediate its ends. The pins 17 extend slidably'through the slot in the pointer 18 to support the element 18 in its position between the plate 1t) and the strip 16. The corners at the junction of theslots 2t and 21 in the pointer 18 are rounded to facilitate the movement of one of the pins 17 from the slot 20 into the slot 21 when the pointer 18' is turned appropriately.

The lower end of the plate 10 is provided with two spaced downwardly extending fingers 22 which are adapted to be bent around a wire strand 24 of the fence upon which the marker is mounted, which is spaced below and substantially parallel to the wire 12 upon which the hanger plate 10 is connected. An additional pair of fingers 23 is provided upon the standard portion of the plate 118 intermediate its ends to make possible the connection of the plate 14 to an intermediately positioned strand of wire, it the fence provides one.

The marker of the present invention is used to mark the location of the ends of furrows and turned-up soil portions between adjacent furrows in a plowed field substantially as follows: A marker is fastened upon the fence at the opposite ends of the furrow or of the turned-up soil portion by bending the crossed portion 11 over the wire 12 and fastening it in bent position by means of the severed end portions of the fastening strip 15. Before the bent crossed portion 11 is finally tightened about the wire 12, the marker is positioned upon the wire so that the indicating point 19 is exactly in line with the adjacent end of the furrow or of the turned-up soil portion to be marked. To indicate that the line mark is that of a turned-up soil portion, the element 18 is positioned so that the indicating point 19 is directed upwardly. If the line to be indicated is that of a furrow, the element 18 is positioned so that the indicating point 19 is directed downwardly. The element 18 is easily turned from the position in which the indicating point 19 is directed upwardly to that in which the point 19 is directed downwardly. The element 18 is raised and turned so that the lower of the pins 17 moves into the leg 21 of the slot in the element 18 and the upper pin 17 moves downwardly in the slot to the point of juncture between the legs 21) and 21. In this position, the element 13 will have been half inverted, the leg 2d then being in a horizontal position. If now, the element 13 continues to be turned in the initial direction, the upper pin will move toward the opposite end of the leg 20 and the lower pin will move back out of the leg 21. If this movement is continued until the lower pin again enters the leg 20, the element 18 will have been completely inverted, that is, turned through an angle of and the indicating point 19 will now be directed downwardly. With one of these markers fixed upon the fence at each end of a furrow or of a turned-up soil portion, the line of that furrow or of the turned-up soil portion will be definitely marked out. The markers, once firmly fixed upon the fence, will remain in place until the next plowing season when they will serve to indicate where the last seasonisr furrows and turned-up soil portions were run and will enable the farmer to alternate their positions in the replowing of the field. Ordinarily, if the fence comprises more than one strand of wire, the fingers 2 2; orthe fingers 2 3, whichever is most appropriately located, will be bent around astrand of wire spaced below that upon which the marker has been initially, hung to reinforce the attachment oh the marker to the fence and prevent it frorn-being swung by the wind.

The faces of the marking elements 18 will customarily be colored white for easy spotting at a distance in the field, but they may be made of other colors or marked with special indicia in order to serve special purposes. The markets may be; made of larger or smaller size and of shapes other than that shown when considered desirable for special reasons.

What is. claimed is:

1. In a marker, an upstanding hanger plate having upper and lower ends, a pointer having a pointing end and another end, and pin means carried by said hanger plate and actingbetween slot means formed on said pointer and supporting said pointer on said hanger plate for movement from a first position in which said pointing end of thepointer is uppermost to a second position in which said another pointer end is uppermost.

2. In a marker, an upstanding hanger plate having upper and lower ends, a pointer having a pointing end and another end, and pin means carried by said hanger plate and acting between slot means formed on said pointer and supporting said pointer on said hanger plate for movement from a first position in which said pointing end of the pointer is uppermost to asecond position in which said another pointer end is uppermost, said pointer comprising a vertical plate engaged with one side of the hanger plate.

3. In a marker, an upstanding hanger plate having upper and lower ends, a pointer having a pointing end and another end, and pin means carried by said hanger plate and acting between slot means formed on said pointer and supporting said pointer on said hanger plate for movement from a first position in which said pointing end of the pointer is uppermost to a second position in which said another pointer end is uppermost, said pointer comprising a vertical plate engaged with one side of the hanger plate, one of said plates having spaced pins projecting therefrom and the other plate having intersecting vertical and horizontal slots therein, said slots constituting slot means in which the pins are'engaged.

4. in a marker, an upstanding hanger plate having upper and lower ends, a pointer having a pointing end and another end, and pin means carried by said hanger plate and acting between slot means formed on said pointer and supporting said pointer on said hanger plate for movement from a first position in which said pointing end of the pointer is uppermost to a second position in which said another pointer end is uppermost, said pointer comprising a vertical plate: engaged with one side of the hanger plate, and marker mounting means on said hanger plate. K

5. in a marker, an upstanding hanger plate having upper andtlower-ends, a pointer having a pointing end and ano'ther'end, and pin means carried by said hanger plate and acting between-slot means formed on said pointer and supporting said pointer on said hanger plate for movement from a first position in which said pointing end of the, pointer is uppermost to a second position in which said another pointer end is uppermost, said pointer comprising a vertical plate engaged with one side of the hanger plate, and marker mounting means on said hanger plate said mounting means comprising a cross head on the upper endtof the hanger plate arranged in confronting relation to one side of said hanger plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,610,604 Edwards Sept. 16, 1952 

